Monday, June 17, 2013

Why not a dinner of hot Tom Yum and crisp slices of fried duck sitting on bamboo shoots under a late night sun at the Asia House in Bad Godesberg?

Or bathing a nude German fraulein in melted chocolate and scrubbing her skin with my tounge in Cologne's fabled Chocolate Museum?

But the jigsaw of that city's 12 Romanesque Churches remains broken and picking the missing pieces while blessing their holy WCs with MVI's golden pee is an itch that remains and need scratching.

Maybe a late lunch of sliced Black Forest ham with rye bread on the side while munching on the antics of a solo jazz dancer stealing tunes from a quartet of Germanized mariachis.

Who am I to resist answering questions on climate change for a free souvenir or writing my name in solidarity with pro-Palestinian activists or conversing with a solo Amnesty International campaigner for human rights in China before that huge exclamation mark of communist German Turks shouting their support for the anarchists of Taksim Square?And all under the shadow of the Great Cathedral of Cologne!

Whatever it might be in Deutschland, Indulgence is that whorehouse along Quezon Avenue where angels drink beer and dance like stoned snakes.FOOTNOTE: For the record, I am sure to have shot two of Cologne's 12 Romanesque Churches namely St. Andreas and the Great St. Martin. The most recent shown here are what I think is the 13th century St. Maria Lyskirchen which is the smallest of the 12 (third photo from the top), one yet to be identified (fourth photo), and the 11th century St. Mary's im Kapitol (fifth photo) which is the largest of the dozen.

Monday, June 10, 2013

"The trip to Trier will follow the Rhine where cute German towns sprouted along the riverbank."That's my boss, a former Marxist idealogue and current closet anarchist, giving me a preview of what to expect should I go to a pilgrimage to Trier.And Trier is the house where Karl Marx was born in 1818.The train indeed followed much of the course of the Rhine until Koblenz.But the cute German towns from there are actually along the banks of the Moselle whose vineyards are famous for a variety of white wine named after the river.

From Trier's main train station, the Karl-Marx-Haus is just a short walk away, its upper middle class character way off the Proletariat that its former inhabitant represented.

Being there was surreal as Das Kapital, political economy, Marxist-Lenninist-Maoist thought, independent socialism, and other egalitarian words took concrete form and chased me from one gallery to another.

It hit me too that one of the most familiar portraits of anti-capitalism (that bearded man in a sitting pose) has become a capitalist venture from refrigerator magnets to wines and chocolates.

But Trier is not only about Karl Marx.It is also a delicious lunch of grilled pheasant breast in mushroom sauce and noodles.

And the awesome Cathedral of St. Peter --- the oldest in Germany and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site --- where the Holy Tunic that Jesus allegedly wore when he died is in safekeeping.

And the 15-century St. Gangolf market church too which I got to shoot in a fleeting moment.

Sunday, June 09, 2013

It was much ado about [surplus] hot air.And hell has no fury than the BURs [Belarus, Ukraine, Russian Federation] scorned [in Doha].That was the case last week when Comrade Oleg threw the gauntlet and turned deaf to the collective plea of the world [parties they are called in Bonn].

And everyday as I walk to the bus stop, my love for Russia grew less.

And less as the empty halls screamed to negotiators in idle mode.

And less as I pondered on the work we could have done.And less as I thought of the family I left behind.And less as I have to endure each day of the gastronomic terrorism at the Maritim.But here's some flowers for the BURs [read: boors] just the same.